President Hassan Rouhani said at the anniversary march in Tehran, "This turnout is a response to false remarks by the new rulers in the White House and the people are telling the world through their presence that the Iranian people must be spoken to with respect." He said "Iranians will make those using threatening language against this nation regret it."

Iranians march on a portrait of U.S. President Donald Trump and the picture of U.S. flag in an annual rally commemorating the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution, which toppled the late pro-U.S. Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 10

U.S. President Donald Trump recently placed sanctions on Iran because of its ballistic missile test last month. He warned Iran that it was "playing with fire."

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis recently described Iran as "the single biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world."

One Tehran resident said, "We did not participate in the rally for more than 10 years. This year my wife told me let's go out to show to the world, particularly Trump, that we love our country despite differences."

State television aired footage of demonstrations in cities around the country, some of them in freezing temperatures.